Thank God my older relatives put up with some of the mischief I got into when I was a boy. They let me know when I was wrong, but they never tried to regiment me or make me play with dolls.
Knowing my own stubbornness, that never would have worked anyway, but it would have made for a miserable childhood.
He is 35 now and the rules that he imposes on his kids are are tougher than I imposed on him, male children need limits, not everything goes.